Koren Jerusalem

As we prepare for Shavuot, we wish our community a joyful and meaningful Hag Sameach.

May this Yom Tov be a time of Torah study and reflection on the giving of the Torah, which continues to shape our lives across generations.

🇮🇱 Celebrate Yom Yerushalayim with us and enjoy 15% off at www.korenpub.com with code JERUSALEM at checkout!

The weekly Torah portion - Parashat Emor - from the book ‘Talks on the Parasha’:

“In Parashat Emor, we find something that might seem strange to our modern sensibilities – God requires physical perfection in both the offerings and the Priests in the Temple. God isn't seeking those who diminish themselves, but those who bring their fullest selves to His service.

Many of us have been taught that religious life means suppressing our natural drives and talents. We might think that the more we deny ourselves, the holier we become. But the Torah challenges this view with its warning against being "crushed and mangled."

God doesn't want us to trade our gifts for religiosity – He wants us to bring those very gifts into our spiritual lives, to serve Him with our full humanity intact. When you feel tempted to shrink yourself in the name of humility or to present only your "acceptable" parts to God and others, remember:
the most sacred vessels were made whole and beautiful.”
——-
Pick up your copy: https://korenpub.com/products/talks-on-the-parasha

We’ve been working on something new at Koren.

What do you think it is?

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Valid through April 26, 2026 | One gift card per purchase

In this essay from the archives of the Jewish Review of Books, Matti Friedman returns to Adjusting Sights in the shadow of the current war. What he finds is not only a novel about 1973, but a voice shaped by Torah, memory, and the attempt to make sense of war as it is lived.

At the center of Haim Sabato’s book is the idea of te’um kavanot, the need to align one’s sights and one’s intentions. It is a story that moves between battlefield and beit midrash, where orders and tefillah are never far apart.

Pick up your copy here: https://korenpub.com/products/adjusting-sights

Read the Jewish Review of Books Review: https://jewishreviewofbooks.substack.com/p/readjusting-sights-from-the-archives

The Great Israeli War Novel (From the Archives) As if All Quiet on the Western Front were written by Agnon: Rereading Sabato's Adjusting Sights.